


merry and bright

by emmerrr



Series: winter wonderland [5]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Allergies, Baking, Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Fluff, M/M, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21904261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmerrr/pseuds/emmerrr
Summary: They watched both Home Alone movies back to back, Adam drowsily and unnecessarily pointing out all the ways in which Harry and Marv should be dead, if not incapacitated at the very least. When Marv got hit in the head by the fourth brick in Home Alone 2, he threw his hands up in exasperation.“This is ridiculous. Just one of those from that height would kill him, and I’m supposed to believe he can take four and just walk it off?”Ronan laughed fondly; Adam felt it rumble through where his head was rested on Ronan’s chest. “See, Parrish, this is what’s called a ‘movie’, and in movies, we’re supposed to suspend our disbelief.”
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: winter wonderland [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1217862
Comments: 5
Kudos: 155





	merry and bright

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for 3 prompts that i rolled into 1 fic:
> 
> omg em ❤️ if you can you could write about pynch snowed in + lynch brothers
> 
> prompt: adam and ronan snowed in at Christmas and using the time to bake and watch bad Christmas movies and be soft and make out, please?
> 
> pynch baking cookies, but Ronan is allergic to cinnamon and Adam doesn’t know that and Ronan doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t want to ruin the moment

When Adam was finally home for the holidays, he and Ronan still had three full days alone before Declan and Matthew were due to arrive on Christmas Eve.

Adam planned on making full use of them.

Day one involved doing very little. They had a lazy morning, trying — albeit not very hard — and failing to get out of bed several times, alternating between coaxing the other back into the warmth whenever one of them got even close to getting up. Tired, unhurried kisses were shared under the covers, hands wandering slowly, fingers grazing bare skin, muffled laughter into necks. Quiet, nonsensical conversations that tapered out until one and then the other drifted back to sleep, before rousing again some time later, limbs entangled in the little cocoon they had created.

Eventually, hunger motivated them to move downstairs, where they cooked up a mountain of breakfast food in the kitchen before heading to the living room to make a blanket fort and watch Christmas movies for the rest of the day.

They’d made it through Elf, Gremlins, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and — because Ronan inexplicably loved it — The Holiday, before they stopped to make another mountain of food, for dinner this time. Once they’d eaten their fill, dishes were thrown into the sink to soak (probably overnight as it was highly unlikely they’d get to them before heading to bed), and then, arms slung around each other, they retreated back to their living room blanket fort for more movies.

Adam couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a day like this. A nothing day. Even the blissful summer with Ronan had been interspersed with work, and they’d spent most of their free time outside anyway. Today, Adam had barely even looked out of the window, too busy soaking up time missed, time with Ronan, time he wasn’t going to take for granted.

They were so full they could hardly move, but they still lay sprawled over each other in their blanket fort, made even softer by all the cushions Ronan had scattered. They watched both Home Alone movies back to back, Adam drowsily and unnecessarily pointing out all the ways in which Harry and Marv should be dead, if not incapacitated at the very least. When Marv got hit in the head by the fourth brick in Home Alone 2, he threw his hands up in exasperation.

“This is ridiculous. Just _one_ of those from that height would kill him, and I’m supposed to believe he can take _four_ and just walk it off?”

Ronan laughed fondly; Adam felt it rumble through where his head was rested on Ronan’s chest. “See, Parrish, this is what’s called a ‘movie’, and in movies, we’re supposed to suspend our disbelief.”

Adam rolled his eyes, lifted his head, and shoved a cushion in Ronan’s face, all in one smooth movement. “I know what a movie is you patronising ass. I’m just _saying._ They’re asking me to suspend an awful _lot_ of disbelief, that’s all.”

“Okay, college boy,” Ronan said with a sage nod, before Adam shut him up with a kiss.

Between make-outs and more movie complaints, they ended up falling asleep down there before Adam rolled over and onto the hard floor and woke himself up. He dragged a disgruntled Ronan up to bed with him where they fell asleep again almost instantly, clutched close together, sharing warmth.

The next day was a shopping day, as tempting as a repeat of the day before was. Ronan had already got the essentials before Adam had got there, but they needed a few extra flourishes, snacks and drinks.

When they got back to the Barns and unloaded the car, Ronan stopped before reaching the porch steps. He tilted his head back and took a deep breath, eyes closed.

“It’s going to snow,” he said.

Adam looked up at the sky. It was undoubtedly cold and grey, but there had been no snow forecast. He remained dubious.

“You think?”

“I do.”

“Why?”

Ronan grinned. “Because I really, really want it to snow.”

It _didn’t_ snow, not for the rest of the day, nor was there any sign of snow when they awoke the next morning. Ronan’s good mood was unaffected, however, and as he set about farmyard chores, Adam took over the kitchen to make gingerbread cookies.

He’d found a recipe that seemed simple enough online, and there were Christmas themed cookie cutters in one of the drawers, so he was all set. The dough didn’t take long to bring together and while it was chilling in the fridge, he went outside to help Ronan.

Ronan was almost done so Adam just waited for him to finish tidying up one of the barns and then they leisurely walked back towards the house. Halfway back, Ronan complained that he was tired and couldn’t possibly go on, so Adam gave him a piggyback, which involved a lot of swaying and almost overbalancing as Ronan was pretty heavy.

When they reached the porch, Adam dropped Ronan unceremoniously and went to lean against the railing, looking out at the grounds. There was a crispness in the air, and Ronan’s cheeks and nose were pink from being out in the cold for a while. Adam could see his breath mist in the air as he took in the view. It struck him that he’d never seen the Barns in snow, but that he’d very much like to.

Strong, sturdy arms enveloped him from behind, and he felt Ronan perch his chin on Adam’s shoulder. He twisted a little, enough so that he could reach to kiss Ronan’s cold cheek.

“What’re you thinking about?” Ronan asked.

Adam smiled. “I’m just wishing for snow.”

“It’s coming, Parrish. Trust me.”

Adam pressed back, snug in Ronan’s arms. “I do.”

Back inside, Ronan went to shower to warm up, and when he didn’t reappear, Adam found him napping, half-dressed on top of the bed. Adam threw a soft blanket over him, pressed a kiss to his temple, and left him to it.

Reasoning that his cookie dough had chilled long enough now, Adam set about rolling, cutting, and baking. There was enough dough to fill two baking trays full of cookies of various shapes; Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer, and stars.

When they were out of the oven and cooling, Adam made some icing to decorate. There were only two food colourings to be found in the pantry, but luckily they were red and green, which seemed appropriately festive.

Using those two colours, plus a plain white, he set about decorating. They weren’t the neatest, but they were bright and cheerful, and clearly very homemade, which was exactly what he had been going for. He was just finishing icing his last one, a nice red star, when Ronan walked into the kitchen, pulling on a hoodie.

He yawned and smiled at Adam, adorably sleep-rumpled. Then he clocked the iced cookies on a plate.

“Oh, jackpot.” He grabbed a Christmas tree one and took a giant bite before Adam could stop him.

 _“Hey,_ I’ve only just finished them, the icing won’t even be fully set yet,” he said.

Ronan grinned, unapologetic, then took another bite. “S’good, Parrish,” he said with his mouth full.

“Good. Save the rest for tomorrow when your brothers get here.”

“Yes, boss,” Ronan said. He’d slowed down chewing his second bite, and he gave the cookie a closer look. Then he put it down, unfinished, and got himself a glass of water.

Adam frowned. “What is it?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Ronan said airily, then cleared his throat a couple of times. “Just...they don’t have cinnamon in them, by any chance, do they?”

“Of course they do, it’s gingerbread. Why?”

“No reason. I’m just like, mildly allergic to cinnamon. It’s no big deal.”

“Did you just say you’re _allergic?”_

“I said ‘mildly’.”

“Fuck, Ronan! Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Ronan was rooting through the cupboards until he finally found a little packet of tablets. “Nah, it’s fine, I’ll just take an antihistamine.”

He swallowed a tablet with water, and Adam watched him warily. “Your throat’s not gonna close up then?”

Ronan shook his head with a smile. “No. I told you, it’s a mild allergy. It just makes my throat itch and maybe irritates my eyes a little or makes me sneeze. But I only took two bites of one cookie so it’s fine, it’s not like I ate a whole fucking spoonful.”

Adam crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you ask if there was any cinnamon in them before you took an enormous bite? And for that matter, why, when I said I was making gingerbread cookies, did you not say not to put any _in_ because you’re allergic?”

Ronan cocked his head to the side, crooked smile on his face that would have a different effect on Adam if he weren’t already annoyed. “Do I look like I know what goes in gingerbread cookies?”

Adam sighed. “Ronan it’s a pretty standard festive spice, it’s in almost everything this time of the year. And anyway, why didn’t you tell me you had an allergy? Is there anything else?”

Ronan shrugged. “No? Don’t think so. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t even think about it. It’s not a Gansey allergy, it’s not gonna kill me.”

“It better not, because if it does, _I’ll_ kill you.”

“Fair.”

Adam finished the cookie Ronan had half eaten, pleased that it did actually taste nice. He’d have to make some normal sugar cookies now as well, that Ronan _could_ eat.

“You wanna help me make some more cookies?” he asked. “I promise I won’t poison you this time.”

Ronan mulled this over, finishing his water as he did. “Do I get to decorate?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes.”

Baking, Adam discovered, was more fun when Ronan was there. It was messier, and it took longer thanks to impromptu powdered sugar fights followed by make-out truces, but infinitely more fun.

He went to bed that night feeling full and festive and excited for the next few days.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and Declan and Matthew arrived at around midday. An hour later, it started to snow.

Ronan ran outside, whooping delightedly. “What did I tell you, Parrish? What did I fucking say?”

Declan looked up at the sky with a frown. “I hope it doesn’t stick. I need to be back in DC on the 27th.”

Adam looked across to where Ronan and Matthew were chasing each other around, slipping where the snow was starting to stick. The flakes were thick and fluffy and falling fast with no end in sight. He shrugged. “That’s three days away, I’m sure however much sticks will be gone by then. And you’ve got nowhere better to be _now,_ right?”

Declan was watching his brothers too, and he half smiled. “No, I guess not.” He turned to Adam. “By the way, were those gingerbread cookies in the kitchen? Because Ronan can’t have one, he’s allergic to cinnamon.”

“God, yeah, I know that _now,_ he took two giant bites of one before he realised what was in it. It wasn’t actually my intention to poison him for Christmas.”

Ronan and Matthew had circled back around, and were in earshot again so Ronan caught what they were talking about. He hopped up to the railing of the porch where Adam stood and kissed him on the cheek.

“For the last fucking time, I’m _mildly_ allergic.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Adam said fondly, catching his hand in Ronan’s collar to pull him close and kiss him properly.

Back inside, Declan made hot drinks and Ronan made a fire, and they all settled down in the living room to watch more Christmas movies

“Can we watch Home Alone next?” asked Matthew after they’d finished The Muppets Christmas Carol.

“No, because otherwise Parrish will literally never shut up about medical inaccuracies.”

But they _did_ watch it again, because it was Matthew’s favourite, and Adam napped through it anyway, cozy under a blanket with Ronan’s arm around him.

Declan disappeared for a while to make them all dinner, and after they’d eaten they played a few old board games that Ronan had found buried in a cupboard somewhere.

It grew late, and everyone started yawning, and eventually they all trickled off the bed.

And all the while, the snow continued to fall.

On Christmas Day, they woke up to picture-perfect views outside, pristine snow that had been undisturbed. They spent the morning eating Adam’s homemade cookies, drinking coffee, and opening presents under the tree.

Ronan had got Santa hats for everyone that he insisted they all wear; Adam’s was green, Matthew’s was red, Ronan’s was black, and Declan’s was blue. There was music and laughter, and wrapping paper crushed into balls and thrown around for Chainsaw to chase. There was thank you’s and hugs and headlocks. Given that there were only four of them, cooking dinner wasn’t particularly an ordeal, and they all helped, and they all cleared up afterwards before finally piling outside to make their mark on the snow.

It had been stopping and starting again all day, and was already very deep. They didn’t venture far, sticking close to the house as they built snowmen and had snowball fights. Adam ducked as Ronan threw one at him, and it instead hit the shed behind him. A whole chunk of snow from the roof of the shed dislodged with the impact, fell forward and cascaded down over Adam, getting freezing snow down his coat and soaking his hat.

He dusted himself off and glared at Ronan, shivering. “You’ll _pay_ for that.”

Ronan laughed, but it faltered a little when Adam started rolling up a giant snowball. “It was an accident, babe, I’m sorry — Parrish, _truce!”_

When all four of them were soaked through with chattering teeth and it was starting to get dark out, they traipsed back inside for warming baths or showers, and by the time they were all, the snow was falling heavily again. Declan made them all leftover turkey sandwiches, and then it was another night in the warm living room with movies and games and stories, and laughing so hard it made their stomachs hurt.

It was a family Christmas, the way Adam had always imagined family Christmases to be.

It snowed all through the night, and Boxing Day greeted them with snow that was well over Matthew’s knees when he went out to investigate. The cars in the driveway were well and truly covered, and Declan spent a large part of the morning trying to dig them out, and also clear some of the driveway, before they heard on the radio that the road beyond the Barns was currently impassable, so there didn’t seem much point.

Matthew and Ronan were very keen to go sledging down one of the hills that backed onto the property, but it was incredibly difficult to try and wade through the deep snow, and when one of Matthew’s wellington boots got caught on something resulting in him accidentally stepping out of it, they decided to give up and try again when some of the snow had thawed.

They went back to the house, cold and wet with freezing, soaked jeans stuck to their legs.

“Whose bright idea was that?” Ronan said as they all stood in front of the fire, getting some warmth back into their bones.

“Pretty sure it was yours,” Adam supplied helpfully.

“What? Nah, all my ideas are fucking great. This has Matthew written all over it.”

“That’s fair,” said Matthew sagely. He looked up at Declan. “Do we still have to go tomorrow? I don’t want to leave before we get a chance to go sledging.”

Declan ruffled his brother’s curls amiably. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure you’ll get your chance. Looks like we’re stuck for at least another couple of days.”

Ronan looked up sharply before schooling his expression. Adam thought he was trying not to look too invested in this development. “What about work?” he asked carefully.

Declan shrugged. “I already emailed them. Not much I can do about the weather, is there?”

Ronan nodded, then looked back to the fire, a tiny smile on his face. “Guess not.”

“There’s not something _you_ can do about the weather, is there? Magic up a heating fan for me?”

Ronan snorted. “A heating fan big enough to melt enough of the snow to get you to the interstate? I mean, I could _try,_ but I’m not gonna.” He elbowed Declan playfully. “Think you should stick around here and have fun instead. It’ll do you some good.”

“Yeah, Declan,” Matthew said.

“Yeah, Declan,” Adam added.

He rolled his eyes. “Alright, point made. Now,” he clapped his hands together, “who’s up for a game of Monopoly?”

“Oh _finally,_ Fun Declan has entered the building,” Ronan said, and Matthew burst out laughing.

“What? It’s the Pokémon edition, it _is_ fun.”

“Really?” Ronan said, suddenly serious. “Fuck yeah, let’s play Pokémon Monopoly.”

After two games, of which Adam won both, he and Ronan wrapped up warm and went outside again.

It took them the better part of the afternoon, but they managed to build a pretty stable little igloo, just big enough for two. They crawled inside, careful not to accidentally take out part of the ceiling, and Ronan pulled a bunch of dream lights out of his pocket and threw them into the air.

They hung there, giving the space a warm glow entirely at odds with how goddamn cold it was. Ronan wasn’t wearing gloves, so Adam covered his hands in his own and rubbed them gently.

“Is this romantic as fuck or what, Parrish.”

“It’s romantic as fuck,” Adam agreed. “You should probably kiss me now, before we get frostbite.”

Not needing any more encouragement, Ronan leaned forward, cold noses on cold cheeks, smiling into kisses, huddled close for warmth.

Adam pulled away with a lazy smile. “Ready to go in?”

Ronan sighed. “I guess.”

“I can kiss you better in the warmth.”

“You’ll have to prove it to me.”

Crunching footsteps outside sounded, approaching fast, before Matthew called out, “Oh, an igloo, _cool!”_

“Matthew, wait!” Ronan yelled quickly, but Matthew was already trying to crawl through. He wasn’t as careful as Adam and Ronan had been, and, bear of a boy he was, his shoulder barged through one side of the entryway, and then the whole damn thing caved in, collapsing snow soaking them to the skin yet again.

“Oops,” Matthew said. “Sorry! I’ll build a new one.” He stood up and reached a hand out to both Adam and Ronan, helping them up from where they were now half-buried in the snow.

“You fuckin’ _better,”_ Ronan said, then lunged for his younger brother, who leapt away with a delighted laugh. Ronan chased him back towards the house, Adam following at a slower pace as he dusted himself free of as much snow as he could. Cold and soaking wet was a feeling he was becoming entirely too familiar with, but he couldn’t find it in him to mind. Not when fun was the cause, and when warming up again was so nice.

The next day, the sun came out, and the thaw began.

They finally had the chance to go sledging, although making it over to the hill Ronan had in mind was still a bit of an ordeal as the snow was still fairly deep. There were only two sledges, a traditional looking wooden one, and a red plastic one. Ronan had also brought some plastic bags with him, stuffed into his coat pocket, which apparently worked just as well. Adam wouldn’t know; he couldn’t remember if he’d ever been sledging before.

Declan went first on the wooden sledge. He picked up speed so fast that when the ground leveled off he went flying over a small bump in the ground and into a copse of trees, disappearing. A moment later, he emerged looking sheepish, holding the now very broken sledge in his hands.

It took him a couple of minutes to get back up the hill to the rest of them, and Ronan just raised an eyebrow in question.

“I crashed into a tree,” Declan said matter-of-factly.

Ronan laughed. “See, this is why _I_ should always drive.” He clapped Declan on the shoulder. “It’s all good, that sledge was fucking ancient anyway. Who’s next. Matthew? Parrish?”

Matthew held out a hand. “Bag me.”

“You don’t want the red one?”

“Nah. The bags are faster.”

Ronan handed him one, and Matthew arranged it just so, sitting on it so that the handles could act as a steering wheel. Adam was curious to see how well it would work, and to be fair it really was incredibly fast. The only problem seemed to be stopping, but Matthew handled this by rocking over onto his side until he eventually skidded to a halt.

Adam gave Ronan a knowing look. “This is going to end in scabs and bruises, isn’t it?”

Ronan grinned. “All in the name of fun.” He put the red sledge at the top of the hill. “Wanna ride with me?”

“I am not getting on that thing with you.”

“Parrish.” Ronan patted the seat. “Get in there.”

Adam sighed. He got in, as he always did. Ronan immediately hopped on the back and his momentum rocketed them forward and down the hill. Ronan’s arms were around him and holding onto the little rope that passed for steering, and he let out a happy swear as they sped down the hill. Adam laughed, exhilarated by the speed and caught up in Ronan’s infectious enthusiasm.

When they approached the bottom and didn’t seem to be slowing down, Adam yelled, “How do we stop?”

“Good question!” Ronan yelled back, but he managed to turn it enough to slow down the momentum, and soon enough they’d dropped enough speed to bail out without causing any injuries.

Ronan lay sprawled on his back in the snow, still laughing. Adam crawled over from where he’d ended up and hovered over Ronan.

“Happy?” he asked.

Ronan grabbed Adam around the waist, and hugged him close. “Yes, Adam. I’m fucking happy.”

They kissed messily, joyfully, both cold and warm at the same time. Ronan leaned back and smiled. “Have you had a good Christmas?”

“The best,” Adam replied, kissing Ronan again, because he could and he wanted to. Then he abruptly got to his feet and started running. “Last one up the hill does all the washing up!”

“Parrish, wait up, no fair!”


End file.
